INQUEST ON THE BODY OF BREADFIELD. THE TRAM ACCIDENT.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 253, 7 April 1888, Page 5

INQUEST ON THE BODY OF BREADFIELD.

THE TRAM ACCIDENT.

Auckland, April 5. Ax inquest, was held at. the Junction Hold, Epsom, yesterday afternoon, on Ihe body of Joseph William Hind hold, who was found dead on the tram lines on Tuesday m ming. The inquiry wa 1 - held before Dr. I'luWurand a |iiry of six, ot whom Mr Lmpey wa-. chosen torcman. Sergeant Piatl repiesontod ihe p lice, while Mi E. Mahuny watched the pioeecdings on beiialf of the i"elati\es ot the deceased. Thomas Chad wick was the lii.st witness called. lie said he wa* a milkman employed by Edwaid llfid, and lned at, One Tree Hill. He wih not. acquainted w ilh the deceased. Between hali-pa-t. u\e iiiul si\ o'clock on Tuesday morning he was coming into Auckland in hi» master's inilkeait, when his attention was called to a man lying on the tiain hue ne.u the second t'ele^iaph pule on the Onehunga .side ot the .Junction Hotel at Ep.-oni. The body was lying on its back, with t ho light aim aciothe °ng it hand tad, alongside ol which, next the toner, the bod> lay. He ascertained that it was the body ot _ a man, but did not i xamiue it put nenlai i\. lie went into Xewmasket, and lepoiltd I he m.ittoi to Constable Colhs. He idctiuticd the bod>, shown him as the one he found, but coiiid not tell how deeea-ed came by lius death. Constable Colli.sdepo-ed that at 5.40 a in. \.'-teida\, the last witue-s lepoiled to him at iXewmaihct the finding ot the dead body daman on the tiam line at hp-om. He went to the place witliout delay a. id found the deceased l)ing on the load, a- had been ileseiibed. The light aim lay ,iuo^ the tram uul and was almo-t m'\ ci ed fiomtho 111 1 unk The body was that ol a man, ami with the exception of the head, w^ full) clothed. The .skull «>i- iiactuied in dm.:-, pliuvb, and the face liighttull) cut and mangled lie behe\ed the injwiit- weie cau-ed by the wheel- of some kind ot eai li.i 'c oi u'hicle pas-mg over his aim, oi by tin" Ivu king ot a hoi -e ' (arc \\ a-, quite t\tnut, and the bod} wa- » old and -till The elo lie- were eosoied with du-t, but who not nuuh torn. He was not able to ulentitx deceased b\ name, although he had seen him pic\ iou-i\ , l>ut not latch He iemo\ed the bnd\ to the .lunction Hotel, uheio the uiiy h.i-1 hyu U. He s, , u died the pocket- of the clothe- at the hotel, in pic-encc ot Detcdne Tuoh\. !!• found thiitctn -hillings and eight puiee, a broken tobacco pipe," and a poekct-handken hiet ot a white colour He al-o louml the SawiH's Bank leceipt book pioduu-d, in the~name of Jo-e[ili William Btadtield, I obden -tuet, iSowton, al-o a dopo-.it itceipt toi six pound-.. H aU> found the iollouuig lettci m the \est pocket . - " Plea-cgise the Inaiei. William Biadheld, mv watch — Wai ivmßi i l. He had made uiqunies who Bell wa-, bur could not ascottain. He examined the -not wheie the body lay, and found a pool of clotted blood on the -pot wheie the head tested He al-o -aw blood on the vails about ihe oi ten yard* be)ond wheie the, body was lying. The body wa- identified by Ann Biadfitld a» that, of her husband. He did not believe- that the body nad been diagged from where he found it to the -pot tight oi ten \aid- di-tant wheie the blood waBy Seigeant I'lall Thcie wuu no maikof the flange- ot w heels oi lails on the ai m, which was"comp'etel> ma-hed. B\ Mi Mahoin . The hi.d\ wa- not acio-» the iail-, but the aim ua-. Ann lUadheld, widow ot the decea-rd. said hoi hu-band was a ginger beer and sodawatei manutactuiei. Thi^y had been In ing at the Wade, wheie decea-ed had been guni-dig-gmg loi lli' l.i-t six \eair* Siie last -aw him air. c on Mond.iy. at 11 a.m., when he left hoi hou-e to proceed to the lace- at Kllei-he She had iecentl\ been eonhncd, and wa- not well enough to L r o out on Monday night but, becoming unea-\ at his ab-t nee, .-he -cut her-i-tu to look tor him. She could not hnil him, and next day witne- W( nt to the Police .Station in .-eaieh of him, but could not get an> account of him theie. >)h< tir-t"heatd ot hi- death M, ii\e o c lock ',e-teiday afternoon from a ueighbout, and oa-ne out and identified the bod) Her husband was a sober, steady and haidwoi king man. He \\a-> bom in London, and wa- -ix months old when he left it He wa.s leaicd in the colon) Hi- » el.ttix . - foiiueil) owned the t-odawa/.et bu-nu -s now canied on by Mr(Jio>. He hao lett -e\en childien ah\e, the ekkst being J8 jears and the >oun sge.-t s ge.-t 12 d,i>-. Lucy Smith, wife ot the iicen-ee ot the Junction Hotel, -aid -he did not know the deceased, but tecogni-cd him a* a man who wa- in the hotel about halt-pa^t six o clock on Monday e\emug. He «,b in company v ith thiee \oung men, but the) weienot know nto her. The tin cc young men called for three long bceis, and wanted deceased, w hodul nota^k Jol anj LhuiLC,to j ju\ foi them He, howe\er, ictused to do ,-o. Deceased did not ha\e anything m the hotel He was- not sober, and yet was not dtunk : she consideied iie>\ a-> capable of taking cue of himself. The diinks weie not paid toi. Witness asked who wa- going to pa\ for the drinks, and one ot the >oungmeu called out, "That man will pay for them He lias plenty of money. The three young men then rode away, lca\ingthe deceased standing in the loud. Bradtield was not in the hotel again that night, and .-he did not know where he went. By Mr Mahony : It appeared to her that the young fellows in the trap, who were respectab?e-lookmg, wished to impose on Brad field. Goo Lcpthorne, boarder at the Junction Hotel, deposed that he was not acquainted with the deceased. He saw him leaving the hotel on Monday niirht, and lie also saw the body carried in the next moining He appeared to have had too much whiskey, but he was not drunk. Michael Duifin, tram conductor, deposed that on Monday night, about a quarter to se\en, he felt a bump when approaching the Junction Hotel from Epsom. Ft was like going over a soft substance. He mentioned the matter to throe passcno C ion the platform, but did not .-top to ascertain the cause. He was told that blood was found on the ear, and having examined the car found blood on the right tore wheel. Blood was also disoo\ered on the indiarubber fender of one oi the other cars. George Edward Crouscn, driver of the car on which the last witness \va.s conductor, said ho did not feel the bump alluded to, and was not told of it till next morning. Robt. Eaton, driver of the 7. 15 tiam irom Epsom, said ho felt a little jolt up the lino j from the.) unction Hotel, but as the car somel times went over siones in that manner he did not think anything of the occurrence. He returned along the line in the same car subsequently, but did not notice anything wrong. James Homan, leader boy for the Tram Company, deposed to seeing the body on Monday night at a quarter past ten, when ho wa« "riding his leader back to Epsom. It was fcho body of a man lying with his arm across the rail. He did not stop to examine it but told one of the grooms at the stables. 'Evidence was also given by Thomas Prenter, who drove deceased in his trap to Epsom from the races, by Michael

O'Donophuo, trnni driver, who did not J not/ico anything unusual at the spot wheic ' the body was found, although blood whs subsequently found on his car : and by Ceo <2,0 Unwell, the at the. stabler. The laM -named admitted that II in. in told him .ibcnil the man on the line, .itid if ho had been alanuod witness would lia\e and seen about it. The voi diet leturued was that of "Accidental death, through hemp run over I))' a tr.iineai, but no blame k attachable to anyone. '